Lot
1113

AN UNUSUAL PALE GREENISH-WHITE JADE FIGURAL POURING VESSEL

17TH/18TH CENTURY

AN UNUSUAL PALE GREENISH-WHITE JADE FIGURAL POURING VESSEL
17TH/18TH CENTURY
Well carved as a hollowed log boat, with Zhang Qian seated in gnarled branches at one end to form the handle, holding a book in his left hand and his double-gourd flask tied to one of the branches, with further branches around the semi-translucent sides and below the spout at the other end
4¾ in. (12 cm.) long

Contact Client Service

Lot essay

This carving represents the Han Dynasty statesman, Zhang Qian, floating down the Yangtze river in a boat made from a hollow log. This was a popular theme during the Ming and Qing periods and is more usually seen in rhinoceros horn carvings.